The Center at St. Andrew, Seattle and Contemplative Outreach Northwest Welcome Rabbi Rami Shapiro to lighten our hearts and give us hope!
A “holy rascal,” a “spiritual independent,” sometimes even a “spiritual revolutionary” – those are some of the things Rabbi Rami Shapiro calls himself.
You may be familiar with this Holy Rascal and his teaching. You may have studied with him on one of his visits to the Northwest or read one or more of his 30-something books. In case you haven’t been introduced, Shapiro has been called “a renowned teacher of spirituality across faith traditions,” “an award-winning storyteller, poet and essayist,” and “one of the most creative figures in contemporary American Judaism.” Almost everyone calls him affectionately “Rabbi Rami.”
A longtime member of 12-step recovery, Shapiro offers other spiritual travelers roadside assistance—through his books, blogs, radio program, retreats, audio and video recordings, and whatever other methods he can creatively employ. He hosts a weekly podcast for Spirituality and Health Magazine called “Essential Conversations with Rabbi Rami.” He leads workshops and retreats nationally on Perennial Wisdom, “the teaching at the mystic heart of the world’s religions.” In order to work toward the liberation of spirituality, he co-founded the One River Foundation, an interfaith global network. He leads “Holy Rascal Revivals” to “playfully pull back the curtain on the great and terrible wizards of parochial piety and shallow spirituality to free religion from hucksterism and pious pabulum.” He seeks through any means possible “to liberate minds, open hearts, unclench fists, and awaken souls to the wonder of the sacred within and without.”
Long dedicated to interfaith work, Rami says “religions are like languages… No language is true or false… all languages are of human origin; each language reflects and shapes the civilization that speaks it; there are things you can say in one language that you cannot say or say as well in another; and the more languages you learn, the more nuanced your understanding of life becomes. Judaism is my mother tongue, yet in matters of the spirit I strive to be multi-lingual.”
The Center at St. Andrew, Seattle, in partnership with Contemplative Outreach NW, is excited to welcome Rabbi Rami Shapiro for a lecture and workshop April 9-11, 2019. All events will take place at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Seattle (111 NE 80thStreet, Seattle, WA 98115).
A healing, community, and lifelong learning ministry of St. Andrew, Seattle, The Center has a history of hosting special guests like Rabbi Rami. In recent years, The Center has hosted the Pacific Northwest Interfaith Amigos, Imam Jamal Rahman, Rabbi Ted Falcon and Ruth Falcon, Aneelah AfzaliMuslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS), and others from a variety of backgrounds and faiths. The Center is committed to outreach, to providing a place where all can explore what it means to be humans in community and what it means to be in relationship with the wider world, and to welcoming all in love to heal the wounds of division, to learn from each other, and to enrich the lives of all. All – from around the diocese, from the Green Lake neighborhood, and to the far reaches of our arms – are welcome at The Center.
Through Centering Prayer and related practices, Contemplative Outreach Northwest seeks to awaken the contemplative dimension of the Gospel in everyday life. In addition to providing workshops and supporting prayer groups, CONW sponsors special events to inspire all to become contemplatives-in-action. Over the years, CONW has sponsored numerous commuter retreats. The visit of Rabbi Rami is a part of that tradition. Through his connection to Fr. Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, Richard Rohr, and others, Rabbi Rami is a part of the larger contemplative network nationally and internationally.
We will be the blessed beneficiaries of his wit and wisdom in the evening talk and two-day workshop! Come to either part or both. We want you to share in the lighthearted fun and the full-hearted depths Rabbi Rami will offer as he helps us delve into perennial wisdom and gives us practical aid for becoming blessings to God’s creation and God’s creatures. It’s as easy as 1-2-3! (A little sample of Rabbi Rami’s humor!)
Three Days with Rabbi Rami Shaprio
Perennial Wisdom Conversation | April 9, 7:00pm
Rabbi Shapiro will present an open lecture and discussion on Perennial Wisdom, the mystic heart of the world’s religions, as the foundation for the human call to be a blessing and to recognize that we are all one community of seekers.
1-2-3 Blessing Retreat-Workshop | April 10, 9:00am-5:00pm; April 11, 9:00am-1:00pm
Rabbi Shapiro will lead a day and a half workshop entitled 1-2-3 Blessing: Be a Blessing to All the Families of the Earth. The workshop will delve into the spiritual truths of blessing more deeply and explore perennial wisdom from the mystic heart of the world’s religions. To borrow from Torah, you are here to “be a blessing to all the families of the earth [human and otherwise]” (Genesis 12:3)–to make the world a little more joyous, free, and loving for your having been born into it.
